Help deciding low or high peramiters

[Lee belk]

Hi I'm absolutely lost when it comes down to deciding if I should have high
Mag alk and cal levels ive been on forums trying to gain knowledge on how its done I wouldn't mind tge coral growth from doing it
I have tried my hardest to find any information about how how or low po4 and no3 should be if they have pros and cons on either route in my head and im more then likely wrong if I go with elevated levels It would make more sense to have higher nitrates and phosphates because the corals will use it to grow while lower level coral growth would use less of them my current levels are
1350 mag
450 cal
8 alk
0 po4
50 not
I will be dossing kalkwasser and vodka to keep on top of nitrates once I have them down to 20 or less I already know how much my tank consumes a week and its not a lot to be honest I've been testing everyday for the last two weeks at the end of the first week I added what was used at the end of the second week it depleted the exact same amount

 

[Reef.]

Hi I'm absolutely lost when it comes down to deciding if I should have high
Mag alk and cal levels ive been on forums trying to gain knowledge on how its done I wouldn't mind tge coral growth from doing it
I have tried my hardest to find any information about how how or low po4 and no3 should be if they have pros and cons on either route in my head and im more then likely wrong if I go with elevated levels It would make more sense to have higher nitrates and phosphates because the corals will use it to grow while lower level coral growth would use less of them my current levels are
1350 mag
450 cal
8 alk
0 po4
50 not
I will be dossing kalkwasser and vodka to keep on top of nitrates once I have them down to 20 or less I already know how much my tank consumes a week and its not a lot to be honest I've been testing everyday for the last two weeks at the end of the first week I added what was used at the end of the second week it depleted the exact same amount

Hard to give advice as you have not said what your tank is going to contain corals wise, or it’s size etc.
and what equipment you plan on using.
I think you are over thinking things a little, start simple and only add carbon dosing etc if you need to.

If you aim for nitrates around 15 and PO4 under 0.1 for a start, then change things if you feel the need.

 

[homer1475]

If your PO4 is truly 0, carbon dosing will not lower the nitrates. You need a little phosphates for carbon dosing to work properly.

I would agree with the above though. Without knowing your stocking, it's hard to say if elevated parameters will do anything.

 

[Lee belk]

Hard to give advice as you have not said what your tank is going to contain corals wise, or it’s size etc.
and what equipment you plan on using.
I think you are over thinking things a little, start simple and only add carbon dosing etc if you need to.

If you aim for nitrates around 15 and PO4 under 0.1 for a start, then change things if you feel the need.

I've got redsea 250 with two red sea 90s two maxspect xf330s reef octopus 110s classic skimmer 8 fish and a mixture of lps and sps and a few zoas im wanting to get more sps i have enough lps my po4 is a faint blue reading very close to 0 I removed rowaphos so i can increase it again with feeding the fish would it be better to leave them and maintain them at where they are now would you say they are in line with one another or should I lower or raise some

 

[Reef.]

I've got redsea 250 with two red sea 90s two maxspect xf330s reef octopus 110s classic skimmer 8 fish and a mixture of lps and sps and a few zoas im wanting to get more sps i have enough lps my po4 is a faint blue reading very close to 0 I removed rowaphos so i can increase it again with feeding the fish would it be better to leave them and maintain them at where they are now would you say they are in line with one another or should I lower or raise some

You don’t say what PO4 test you are using?

My guess is the salifert, if it’s that test then any hint of blue means you have plenty PO4 and maybe on the high side. Seeing blue normally means you are at least on 0.1 PO4 if using the salifert test kit.

 

[Lee belk]

You don’t say what PO4 test you are using?

My guess is the salifert, if it’s that test then any hint of blue means you have plenty PO4 and maybe on the high side. Seeing blue normally means you are at least on 0.1 PO4 if using the salifert test kit.

Salifert bud

 

[Reef.]

Salifert bud

Then your po4 is likely too high, not a good idea removing the rowa.

 

[Lee belk]

Its mind blowing because the salifwrt test says its at 0 more or less what test would be more accurate

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I personally do not see any big issue except for the possibility that the phosphate may really be too low. I do not think phosphate below 0.02 ppm is desirable, but it is hard to detect that with the Salifert. I'd reduce or remove the GFO and see what happens. The Hanna ultra low range checkers or ICP will give better readings at these low levels.

Lowering the nitrate is a fine plan (if accurate at 50 ppm), but isn't likely to make a dramatic change in the tank.

 

[Reef.]

Its mind blowing because the salifwrt test says its at 0 more or less what test would be more accurate

The Hanna 774 checker is what I use, the only other po4 test I would recommend is the Elos high resolution test kit, it’s still tricky to read but is better at the low end than salifert, but the Hanna is the one to go for.